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Barcelona residents don't want any more tourists

When you live in a location which is attractive for many reasons there are always going to be visitors and I suspect there always have been visitors. Here in Southeast Florida we have that in the whole "snowbird" phenomenon but these people STAY and not just for a few days. Traffic increases, restaurant reservations become more difficult, the beaches are more crowded, etc.

Cruise ships? Barcelona hasn't SEEN anything what we get here with sometimes seven or eight in and out in one weekend including the two largest vessels afloat. But unlike Barcelona, our 50-60 thousand passengers simply jam the airport although many fill the hotel rooms also.

I wonder if all those "residents" in Barcelona who don't want people INCLUDE the bar and restaurant owners, the hotel owners, the taxi drivers, all those "sellers" lining La Ramblas, etc.?

There's a REASON people flock to certain places and that is not going to change no matter what officials do and that includes wiping out ALL of those AirBnB and similar accommodations which I bet the owners of same wouldn't be happy about.

I do not know a whole lot of people who are not enjoying their lives because they live in boring, dangerous places. I do not know a single person who travels because living in their home city is dangerous, and I know a whole lot of people who live in cities. >>

nor me, nikki. I live in the countryside so I love to visit cities to enjoy the museums, galleries, concerts, theatre, easy access to a variety of restaurants, etc.

we too have a tourist "problem" - no way will I try to go anywhere out of county on a Saturday in the school summer holidays, because the roads are clogged with tourists coming or going, Fridays are becoming as bad and certain places are almost impassible so we just don't go there in the season.

But I can't be too grumpy about it - as we have a holiday cottage I can hardly bite the hand that helps to feed me.

The idea that people who are dissatisfied with where they live need to travel is ridiculous. New York, for instance is a vibrant interesting city, a great destination itself and New Yorkers are great travelers. And the people I know who live in truly dangerous cities in the US don't have the financial option to travel, or to move.

I think many tourist destinations, Barcelona and Venice come to mind, have sold their souls to the devil in encouraging cruise ships. apartment rentals too are a huge problem needing regulation, which of course is harder to do once the barn door is open. I like the idea in Barcelona of encouraging rentals in other parts of town away from the main tourist areas.

Dukey, you moved there knowing all that, right? For the same reasons the snowbirds go, right? Not at all the same as people native to a place coping with it being taken over.

PS I like Gaudi. Perhaps not a great architect, but his work creates an emotional reaction for many people, including me. If that makes me a Phillistine, I am ok with that.

Unless something changes, this will be the first decade since the 1970's we have not visited Barcelona. I thoroughly enjoy going to Sagrada Familia and seeing the progress or lack thereof.

Single-minded people often change the world, sometimes for the better. It is an insane work of imagination, where some symbolism is clear and some ornamentation means little other than color and diversion.

The joie de vivre of Barcelona is unique and palpable. The layers of history make it one of the most unusual cities we have visited and always a delight.

Cities and towns must learn to balance commerce and the rights of residents.

I will never forgot my first night in Barcelona. We heard music outside our hotel window and raced out. There in front of La Seu, people were dancing the Sardana. At first I thought it was in defiance of Franco but quickly learned, for whatever reason, he allowed the traditional Catalan folk dance to take place. We danced with the Catalans in this simple act of quiet pride.

Our neighborhood Community Board is limiting the number of bars in the area. Until recently there has been a successful fight for the people not to go to chain stores. But there the influx of kids who grew up in the burbs are comfortable with them.

There is a citywide movement to protect and encourage Mom and Pop shops.